


laughter is the best medicine

by Violinplayer888



Series: Sad Paladins/Creating a Family [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autistic Keith (Voltron), Bad Jokes, Bad Puns, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good feelings all around, Hawaiian Hunk (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Memes, Tumblr Prompt, au where episode 11 didn't happen, no relationships - Freeform, snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 14:31:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8804539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violinplayer888/pseuds/Violinplayer888
Summary: Looking at Lance no one would see anything wrong with him. He flirted, he laughed, and he made sure that he could break the uncomfortable silences and devastatingly dark moments among his fellow paladins with jokes. But maybe there was more than meets the eye.





	

 Looking at Lance no one would see anything wrong with him. He flirted, he laughed, and he made sure that he could break the uncomfortable silences and devastatingly dark moments among his fellow paladins with jokes.

Growing up as the third oldest in a big family had the responsibility to cheer up his little siblings when they felt down. He quickly learned that they would go to their father for emotional comfort, And him for jokes and pranks. He knew he was the favorite sibling even though none of them would ever say so. When meals around the dinner table had gone too quiet after something bad happened in the family, he would step up and start telling stories that may or may not have happened to him or at all, until no one could stop laughing long enough to eat.

He of course had different tactics depending on who was present. But all of them were directed at them to make them happier or lighten the emotional load put on these _children_ some even older than him (and in Allura's case more than 10,000 years older) even who had to carry the weight of saving the entire known and unknown universe.

for exmple Allura was often met with flirtatious jokes that she had grown so used to she would roll her eyes and continue on her way. But Lance knew that each time he complimented her Altean eye markings, or her seemingly impossibly smooth completion under the guise of flirting that she would blush slightly just at the edge of her jumpsuits. He kept it up even though it was no longer with the intent of wooing her. He knew that she had a tendency to see her Altean traits as reminders of her lost planet and people. He made sure each time her eyes caught her reflection it was a happier one.

* * *

Lance more often than not made references to memes he knew must have been long sentenced to obscurity on earth to Pidge. When the green paladin wasn't meticulously combing over info gathered from Galra ships that he'd already scanned over a dozen times before for information on his family, Lance could distract him with attempts at reciting outdated memes (which Pidge would have to interrupt him to correct him which would interrupt his concentration and give him a break from staring at a screen.)

It was going on 8 hours staring at the same chunk of data, trying to decipher if it had any information on where his brother and father were and if they were even still alive when-

"Piiiiiiiidge! Piiiiiiiidge!" Lance strolled into the hallway where the aforementioned 14-year-old was propped up against a wall with their laptop braced on his knees. The blue paladin had his hands cupped around his mouth. He lowered them as soon as he saw the little brown-haired kid. He jogged over and plopped himself down in front of him. "Pidge. I'm bored, play with me." Lance reached out to shut the laptop and Pidge scooted out of arm's reach of lance along the wall with a scowl that seemed to be permanently etched into his face.

He scooted closer again, "Pidge that was rude, you should be nicer to me." When he wasn't met with any response he took a deep breath, "According to all known laws  
of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. Black, Yellow. Black, Yellow-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. It's Yellow, Black, not the other way around" Pidge was looking up at him frowning less than before, "If you're going to recite the bee movie to someone who knows it as well as I do, then get it right."

"I'm so sorry, memelord. Educate me if you will on this movie I am not worthy to speak" he pretended to bow with a wide smile on his lips, giving away his sarcasm.

An actual smirk was visible on Pidge, "Well it all started in 2007 when the movie was released..."

* * *

Hunk was easier to get. He adored puns no matter how terrible, he would start laughing, even if he thought of one on his own he would audibly chuckle. Hunk didn't often get down in the dumps, but he had chronic anxiety, and seeing that he was in space, far from a pharmacy, he couldn't get his medication which caused some days to be harder than others.

This day in particular was not good. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed so to speak. Well actually he woke up on the floor. He wasn't sure how he got down there or for how long but there he was so Hunk felt cooking would help settle that pit in his stomach. From the moment Shiro had allowed them to stop training, he had escaped into the kitchen to see what he could whip up. By this point all surfaces had been covered. And this is where lance wandered in looking for a snack and finding a feast instead.

"Ay, buddy? Did the fridge break? I've never seen this much... Woah is this ice Cream?" He grabbed a bowl of food that did in fact resemble the cold treat.

Hunk didn't even stop his mission of rolling out whatever that orange paste was into a flat circle. "It was supposed to be, but I wouldn't suggest eating it. It's hot enough to burn your tongue." He kept tapping his foot to an invisible beat and his brow was furrowed in what Lance would call concentration if he didn't know that cooking usually calmed the bigger guy down.

He set down the bowl quickly, already feeling the tingle in his fingers from where they had made contact with the suspiciously hot metal container. "How long have you been in here Hunk? Even before the Garrison I've never seen you make this much food." He moved a few plates of food coloured in a way that made his stomach turn to the side then jumped up to sit on the counter where the plates once where. He noticed one plate in particular exactly resembled pasta, with the exception of how it glowed much brighter than on earth. "Hunk! You made spaghetti?! I didn't think it was pasta-ble!" Lance grinned at Hunk who just paused his rolling for a split second to crack a weak smile.

Lance looked around for more inspiration. "Not that funny? Penne for your thoughts?" This time hunk let out a small chuckle.  
"If I had known that there would be a feast I would have put on a bowtie~" The Hawaiian laughed, having to grab the edge of the counter to steady himself.

"I hope I have the authority to make these jokes. I don't want to be an impasta!" Lance laughed at his own joke along with Hunk who was getting progressively louder.

"Anyway I should go shower. Pasta la vista!" He hopped off the counter and waved as he left the kitchen with his best friend laughing, bent over. That night the food was all laid out for dinner and hunk was in a considerably better mood.

* * *

Shiro's sense of humor was a surprise to everyone. The younger paladins had all assumed he would be appreciative of dad jokes like Coran or puns like hunk, but lance stumbled upon it one day while telling bad jokes to the group.  
It was universally known that Shiro couldn't sleep well. He was plagued with nightmares about his year captivity and it affected his mood the following day. This day in particular, Shiro was very closed off. They were given the day off by Allura after seeing how badly Shiro was performing and he was currently sat in the corner of one of the couches in the common area they often congregated when they had down time.

"What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh!" He laughed with Coran as the others groaned.

"Okay, okay, what do you call a dog with no legs? It doesn't matter what you call him, he isn't coming anyway." They complained again but we're stunned into silence by a poorly hidden snort from the oldest paladin. All head turned to Shiro who was trying to hide his embarrassing sound by covering his mouth with his hand.

Lance thought for a moment then asked, "what do you call a 100 of lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A horrible boating accident." Shiro laughed again but louder. He slapped both hands over his mouth to prevent the sounds escaping.

Lance scrambled up on his knees not caring for Allura's chastises of having feet on furniture, "what does snow and friends have in common? If you pee on them they disappear!"

The black paladin held his stomach in laughter. He hasn't felt this good in a long time. And from there on Lance would use his knowledge of Shiro's love of slightly dirty anti-jokes to whisper them while passing in the hallway just to hear his chuckles replace his moping.

* * *

After being on a ship in space for over a year, Lane and Keith had gotten over their petty feud and gotten to know each other better as friends. Keith didn't quite grasp many of Lance's jokes. He would just stare or assume it was a joke as the majority of words out of Lance's mouth were, giving a laugh hoping it was the right response. It bothered lance to no end how he couldn't get Keith to feel better with laughter like the rest of them, but he noticed how Keith's eyes would sparkle every time he challenged him to a competition. He knew that if The Red paladin was feeling down he would race him to a point in the castle or something along those lines. He also learned that Keith responded to more physical humor like giving terrible imitations of their fellow ship mates, or the Galra.

Lance and Keith were sitting on the training deck after everyone else had left. They needed a bit extra work so Shiro had sentenced them an additional hour on the deck. Once the panting had died down and they had finished their water pouches which Pidge has started calling Capri suns, and the name stuck, Lance stood up, "hey Keith! Who am I?" He stood with his back straight and a fist pressed to his chest. He put on the worst English accent that Keith had ever heard and started talking with large arm movements, "My, Keith? How are you sitting at a time like this? We have things to do! You're acting like a Scwoob! Fantastic little creatures they are. Despite the fact they don't have legs." He bent over to add dramatics to his joke. Keith had fallen back on the floor at some point during his monolog laughing at his terrible imitation of their orange haired unofficial uncle.

Suddenly the laughter stopped and the black-haired boy sat at straight up. "Keith my boy, what wrong it looks like you saw a Galra?" He took a bit step and looked around, presumably looking for the purple alien. "Maybe you need one of my famous disgusting Paladin meals..." Lance trailed off when we saw the exact person he was imitating standing in the doorway. He had his arms crossed and was tapping a foot to show his displeasure. He stuck his nose in the air and with a quick turn on his heel he left.

The silence was near deafening the moments after he left. Keith burst out laughing louder than before. Lance glared at him, cheeks bright red in embarrassment. "That's not funny! He could be really mad!" He was still stuck in the accent with had Keith holding his stomach on the floor. Lance saw how happy he was and let out a chuckle. Which turned into a chortle which finally made it to a laugh similar to Keith's. For the next week, every time Coran saw them he could glare playfully just to see them weeze.

* * *

All paladins were sat together in The common area after a successful mission to free a planet from the Galra. They had already finished their debriefing and it had become a habit to gather together after any mission. It was hard to be alone on this massive ship after events like that. Seeing the families be reunited and given the chance to It was always silent which left Lance to break the quiet with attempted jokes that usually failed flat. Shiro was sitting at the end alone like usual. His prosthetic was laid over the back of the couch as if he was trying to get it as far as he could from him. It's almost always how he sat. Pidge was in a similar position at the opposite end. Hunk was sat on a couch with a small piece of machinery that he had taken apart just to put back together again. Lance was sat right up against hunk, needing some sort of physical contact. After about two weeks in earth time of distancing himself from others once they got out here in space in the fear we would overwhelm them, he had reached a point where he was so touch-starved he showed up at hunks door at some ungodly hour of the night, asking to sleep in his bed. Keith was sat laid across the couch on his stomach with his chin propped up on his hands and his head close to lance's legs, but with a clear view of everyone including Hunk so he could watch his hands tinker. It gave him something to focus on.

The homesickness always hit lance the hardest and right now it was just about choking him up, leaving him to swallow around that lump in his throat. And when he didn't know what to do, he make a joke: He had finally gotten sick of the silence and decided to break the uncomfortable silence with, "So the weather right?" He was met with blank stares from his shipmates. "Alright knock knock!" No response came, only the sound of hunk fitting two pieces of metal together so lance responded to himself in a slightly mocking voice then switching back to his normal one as if playing two characters. "Who's there? Figs. Figs who? Figs the doorbell please." He smiling at his own joke hoping someone else would join in. No one did. "Okay that one didn't land either, but when do I ever know how to land something Properly, I'm just some cargo pilot." He looked around at his friends who were looking off elsewhere or otherwise distracted. forcing the smile to stay up

Keith reached out a hand and placed it on lances knee and spoke quietly not understanding it was a joke, "I'm sorry. You're so much more than that."

Shiro was ready to inform Keith that it was just a joke and not to take lance seriously but there were tears collecting in Lance’s eyes. The speed in which lance had responded with crying shocked even him. He wasn't one to cry in front of people, always being the funny man left him on his own to deal with his problems by hiding that he was actually in pain too. The silence took over again but this time not even the sound of hunks fiddling was audible. A few tears spilled down his cheek with a sniffle.

All of the paladins were openly staring at him. Lance rubbed a palm over his eyes trying to laugh, but failing and letting out a sob instead. He stood to leave but someone caught his hand. He looked back and saw Hunk holding his wrist in one of his large hands. The engineer tugged him back down and pulled Lance into a hug, holding him close to his chest practically in the larger mans lap. Lance was shocked for a moment but couldn't hold back the waterworks any more and let his tears flow again. He gripped Hunk shirt in his hands while pressing his face into his chest. He felt a hand on his shoulder so he turned his head to see Keith sitting up next to them. Lance was touched by his thoughtfulness and pulled him into the hug too. Keith was shocked for a moment but gave in and returned the hug to the two. Pidge joined them a moment later, not wanting to be a part of the hug itself but rubbing lances back, or to be correct rubbing whatever wasn't being covered by arms. Shiro slid into place with them too, enveloping all of them in one large hug, holding them together with his long arms.

They stayed together on the couch until way after Lance had cried himself to sleep. But he seemed to be sleeping soundly, surrounded by the people he had grown to care about the most. So everyone else dozed off one by one unintentionally. When he woke up he was still cradled loosely in Hunk’s arms who had remained mostly unmoved, but they were lacking the strength that had only a few hours before. He had keith in a similar position; half way on hunk and leaning against Lance's chest. Pidge somehow ended up laid with his head resting in Lance’s lap and hands curled up below his chin. Shiro was sat up, his head titled to rest on hunks shoulder, but still pressed right up against lance too. Lance wiped the dried tears from his face and smiled for real this time. He knew that they would be sore when they all woke up, but he didn't care. For right now, he knew that it was more important that he spent time wrapped up with the people he loved most in the whole galaxy.

From that day on, the people that he had spent all of his free time on trying to distract from their current lives, had done just that for him. Because looking at Lance no one would see anything wrong with him. He flirted, he laughed, and he made sure that he could break the uncomfortable silences and devastatingly dark moments among his fellow paladins with jokes. But more often than not, he was hiding his own dark thoughts and sadness behind funny comments. And even he needed a break from it. Which is exactly what Shiro, Allura, Coran, Pidge, Hunk, and Keith gave him. On his occasion and many more to follow.

**Author's Note:**

> So I was on tumblr and I saw this post* and just had to write something about it. This is the first story I've written in a long time so please be nice? I think I will turn this a series of stories about the paladins comforting each other because the fandom needs much more of that in my opinion, and I’m a sucker for some good emotional hurt/comfort. Or even a look into Lance’s mind on his own. Pretty much 6 pages of self-indulgent fanfcition. 
> 
> *http://the-forgotten-spring.tumblr.com/post/153513508125/lance-makes-jokes-about-stuff-he-is-emotional


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